Star Wars: One More Man
by Mankeyo
Summary: AU. Galen Marek, the original Starkiller, survived the battle on the Death Star. Watch as he fights the Empire and shows The Galaxy the kind of Jedi he can be. First Fic. Rated M for possible future gore/themes. Galen/Juno pairing, Other canon pairing and similar Expanded Universe events.
1. Chapter 1

Star Wars: One More Man

Chapter One

Galen Marek was in pain. Granted the fact that he was currently deflecting and simultaneously absorbing the Force Lightning of arguably the most powerful and successful Sith Lord of all time, on a weapon capable of destroying entire planets, trying to rescue the best hope that the galaxy had for freedom from said Sith Lord while they were pursued by several squads of the Empires best Stormtroopers and the other Sith Lord who happened to be only marginally weaker than the man he was currently fighting. Not to mention the woman he loved was the getaway driver, putting Juno in the most dangerous position that didn't directly involve the Force.

Galen should have been screaming in frustration, he was in an impossible no win situation. In fear, Juno and the leaders of soon to be Rebellion could die in any number of ways. In anger, the man responsible for turning his former master into what he was and basically ruining his whole life. Instead all the young man formally called Starkiller did was force himself to move closer to Emperor.

Galen took another step forward.

Somehow even while he was focusing on the star of pain forming in his chest he found himself able to reflect on his life and how things had turned out for him. He hoped Juno would find someone to make her happy, she deserved that, he hoped that PROXY would be repaired and that the Rebels would look after him. He had had an odd life, his father figure for most of it had been a two meter tall cyborg of a Sith Lord and his best friend a droid that had been programmed to routinely try to kill him.

His childhood had been full of murder and torture and Galen found himself wondering: had there been any point to it? Or was his creation of the Rebellion that purpose, a lifetime of darkness for a galaxy of light? It wasn't so bad he supposed, even if his sacrifice was forgotten he would know from inside the Force.

He swore that his heart was exploding slowly, it was now or never, Vader was near enough for the blast to cause enough damage to both of the Sith Lords that the others would be able to escape. He felt the energy reach is peak and he prepared to release it. Ideally he would like to release the energy in a directed burst against Palpatine, but after all the fighting he had done he was too exhausted.

_'Juno...'_

His thoughts turned towards her the image of her rare smiles, the sound of her voice and the sensation of her mouth pressed against his. He steeled himself and prepared to die.

'Boy!'

The shout from General Kota was accompanied by a surge of energy through the Force. With his strength bolstered by Kota's, Galen was able to focus the energy into a directed blast.

'**HYYRAAH!**'

The blast blew the Emperor and Vader across the chamber and himself backwards through most of the stormtroopers chasing the Rebel leaders. As he slowed he felt himself being seized by Kota and telekinetically dragged to the blind general. He felt his lightsaber being pulled from his belt and Senator Organa and Garm Bel Iblis grip him and start to drag him. Organa swore and patted at the small patch of flame that clung to Galen's sleeve.

As he was pulled back he caught a glimpse of Mon Mothma, who had somehow gotten her arms in front of her covering their escape even as General Kota reflected a blaster bolt with the borrowed saber in his right hand even as he pushed several stormtroopers away with his left. The broken cuffs dangling from his left wrist and the scorching on his right told the story of his freed hands.

He felt a blast of wind on his face and realised they had been taken to the rendezvous point as he saw the _Rouge Shadow_ descend. Odd how he hadn't heard the ship. He fought against the darkness that tried to take him as he was pulled up the ramp. He felt himself slipping into unconsciousness but a rare smile reached his lips as he realised one amazing, astonishing fact.

He was still alive.

(\|/)

While Galen was taking his very much earned rest the rest of the people onboard the _Rouge Shadow_ were preparing to escape what was perhaps the best armed and most dangerous battle station that the galaxy had ever seen. Juno was preparing herself for the worst, that Galen had sacrificed himself but she focused on the task at hand. She had to pilot all of the Rebel Senators out of the Horuz System.

She made full use of the unfinished nature of the Death Star and flew as close to it as possible, dipping into the unfinished structure as necessary. Thankfully the Emperor had decided that secrecy was the best policy in relation to the Death Star, meaning that the TIE fighters were thin in the vacuum.

Juno pulled away from the Death Star and headed out of the system. As they accelerated towards the edge of the system some TIE's were able to close the distance.

"Brace yourselves!"

The _Shadow _had been designed for infiltration, allowing Galen as Starkiller to get close enough to a target to allow him to carry out his mission, usually mass assassination and occasionally sabotage, as such it was incredibly fast for its size and possessed a cloaking device and jamming array that were state of the art, however the shielding was comparatively weak. All of these impressive capabilities were pointless when the enemy had a general idea of their location, all they had left was speed.

They pulled out of the asteroid belt, nearing the point where the _Shadow_ could escape via hyperspace jump. Juno prepared the nav computer to generate a series of algorithms to randomize their coordinates. From there they would perform several more random jumps and from there they would decide their next course of action.

Accompanied by a few stray shots from the pursuing TIE fighters, she activated the hyperdrive and entered the comforting and familiar sight of hyperspace.

Juno allowed herself a moment to collect herself before heading towards the medbay, she paused and almost asked PROXY to keep an eye on the cockpit but then she remembered that the odd droid had been severely damaged on Corellia. They should retrieve and repair him, Galen would want him to be a part of the Rebellion.

All of these thoughts fled when she saw Galen prone on the examination table, General Kota was standing over him and had his hand on his chest, probably trying a Jedi healing technique in order to keep Galen alive. On the far side on the table Organa and Mon Mothma were grabbing a series of medical supplies while Iblis was cutting his way out of the cuffs as the other two senators had doubtlessly already done.

Juno moved towards the table even as Galen moved slightly and his eyes fluttered open for a second. Kota spared her a glance before refocusing on the task at hand. After she got over her initial shock she moved forward quickly hoping to help.

'What can I do to help, General?'

Kota spoke without moving, 'Help get his robes off, I need you and the senators to assess the damage.'

Juno began to remove Galen's Jedi robes while the senators began to do what they could for the young Jedi.

'Can't you assess it yourself?' Organa asked.

'I'm **blind**. I can't see any of the external damage.' Was the blind man's terse response.

'Can't you use the Force?'

'Senator, I'm no Healer, I'm a Jedi Knight. I can heal myself but not others. Now please let me focus!'

The others helped the General treat Galen, noting the amount of injuries he had sustained; blaster wounds, lacerations, broken bones, bruises and electrical burns. They were able to get him stabilised, all of them surprised at the fact that he was still alive. Inevitably they began to

Mon Mothma was the first to speak up, 'We need to decide where to go next, all of us are now wanted criminals and we should probably go into hiding, somewhere this young Jedi can receive treatment-'

'Let's not forget that this _young Jedi _was the one who got us captured. He was working for Palpatine! He's a traitor!' Garm interrupted.

'To what cause exactly? Our alliance hasn't been officially formed, the only other being who even knows of it my daughter, Leia.' Organa added, 'We all saw what he did, what he fought against. Were it not for Master Kota's intervention he would most likely died allowing us to escape.'

'Master Kota, what is your opinion?'

Kota was surprised by the question, mainly because he had exhausted himself keeping Galen alive. He paused for a second and collected his thoughts.

'When I first met him, he was trying to kill me on behalf of Vader over Nar Shadda. I'll be honest, he took me by surprise. I was expecting Vader to come, instead I got a boy who-'

'Galen.'

The other conscious occupants of the medbay eyed Juno in surprise.

'His name is Galen.'

'Galen, Thank you Captain. As i was saying; instead I got Galen. He felt odd through the Force, that was what struck me the most.'

'Odd?' Was Organa's somewhat surprised reply.

'For lack of a better term, he felt naive. I believe he was raised in darkness, the dark side was all that he had known, so the teachings never got a complete grip on him because he had no experience with the light side. I believe that that understanding of both sides is rather important in both the Sith and the Jedi.'

'This is all interesting but it doesn't tell us what we should do with him, what to think of him.' Garm said.

'Very well. When i met him again on cloud city i was able to sense a change within him, he was slowly beginning to take a step out from under Vader and a sensed light in him where there had only been a small part before. Then on the Death Star I sensed that he ha rejected the dark side completely. I sensed a Jedi. We can trust him.'

'Very well then, we should set course for Nar Shadda, I have a safe house and medical facility set up there, it should serve our needs for the time being.'

With that statement Organa brought the discussion to a close, he went to the cockpit to begin plotting the route to Nar Shadda and Mon Mothma and Iblis went to find somewhere they could rest. This left Juno and Kota alone with Galen.

'What was his full name?' Kota asked.

'Galen Marek.' Came Juno's reply.

'Marek. Huh. Now that's a name I haven't heard in a long time.'

'You knew him?'

'His father, Kento. A bigger glory hound and reckless fool you ouldn't find. Well Skywalker was probably worse but the point still stands. I'm surprised that he was able to father a child so powerful, i wonder who Galen's mother was.'

'Maybe he'll tell you when he wakes up.'

'Maybe.'

'Did you know it was the same person who blinded you when he came to you on Cloud City.'

'Yes and I did sense something new in him, a single bright spot. One beautiful thing he held onto, even at the end.'

'What was it?'

'You.'

And with that the Jedi turned and walked away, leaving the two young people alone.

(\|/)

Ten Days Later: Kashyyyk

They had all assembled at the Marek family hut, where the group had been joined by Princess Leia Organa. They had previously discussed all of the finer points beforehand, however they all felt the need to do so formally and to honor Galen because he had fought two Sith Lords to save them only surviving through chance.

Both Galen and Juno were on the balcony admiring the view, Juno standing and Galen floating hoverchair, recovering from the calcification of his skeleton that the Emperor's Lightning had Caused. The mood was charged, as if even it was waiting in anticipation.

'Are we ready to finish what we started?' Bail said.

There were nods of agreement from the others around the table.

'Then at last, the Rebel Alliance is born. Here, tonight.'

The satisfaction of saying those words were indescribable. Finally they would properly fight to restore freedom and the Jedi to the Galaxy. He wasn't surprised when Leia spoke up to add her contribution.

'We need a flag to rally behind. A symbol...'

She bent slightly and brushed the dust off of the table to reveal a crest.

'A symbol of hope.'

They all agreed that it would be appropriate that the Alliance would rally under the Marek family crest, given Galen's role in bringing them all together. Bail looked over at Master Kota.

"Would you bring him over Master?'

Kota nodded and walked over to where the young couple was. He stopped and allowed tem several seconds more to admire the view. Then he cleared his throat,

'Galen.'

Galen turned at the sound of his name.

'They want to talk to you.'

'Alright.'

Galen had been dreading and waiting this moment, where they would decide what to do with him.

As his chair hovered beside the table he waited for one of them to begin speaking.

It was Mon Mothma who spoke,

'Firstly we would like to thank you. If it weren't for your actions we would be dead and the Rebel Alliance would have never been formed. After you informed us of your life we were given much to consider and we have come to various decisions.'

Now it was Iblis who continued the discussion,

'We have decided that because of your history we will not have you as the leader of the Rebellion.'

The suspicious undertone was clear to all, he was a former servant of the empire and he had betrayed them and he deserved the suspicion.

'However, that does not mean that your role in the Rebellion will go unrecognised. We have chosen to use your families crest as the symbol of the Rebellion.'

At that Galen's Eyes widened but he didn't get a chance to comment as Iblis ploughed on,

'We have also decided that you will not be mentioned in having a role in the creation of the Rebellion.'

For the second time in as many minutes Galen was struck by what was being said, he didn't mind the lack of recognition, he was used to it, but he was certain that they would use the fact that he was a Jedi as a way to gain more recruits and add legitimacy to their cause.

'The reason for this decision is because it would destroy the Rebellion if word got out that the man who formed it did so on the Emperor's orders. While it would be an embarrassment to the empire it would do far more damage to us.'

Galen accepted the explanation without comment, even as the senators left him with General Kota.

'Well boy that was quite a lot to take in and I'll let your thoughts be your own. But I have a proposition for you. You were trained as a Sith and I can sense the good in you, how would you like to be my Padawan? To formally learn the ways of the Jedi?'

Galen was silent for a moment as he considered it, but then he spoke,

'I would be... honoured to follow in my parents footsteps and become a Jedi. Can I have my lightsaber back now?'

At that Kota blinked before responding,

'Very well, your training starts soon Galen, you will have to construct your very own Jedi lightsaber. It shouldn't be too hard given your-'

'General! Where is my lightsaber?'

Kota paused and brought out the broken remains of Galen's lightsaber.

'It was a stray blaster bolt, hit the power cell and caused a chain reaction. I'm sorry but the crystal was broken in half and most of the other components are unusable as well. I know the crystal was your fathers.'

Galen silently took the remains of the weapon and extracted the crystal. It had indeed been broken in half.

'Well it looks like I get the full Jedi experience.'

Kota simply nodded and left as Galen floated over to Juno who hadn't moved but had doubtlessly been listening. He stayed beside her for a while before she spoke.

'So you're going to be a Jedi?'

'Yes.'

'And Jedi aren't allowed to have relationships.'

'Yes.'

'So is this where it ends?'

'If the Jedi were still around they would forbid it, but i would tell them where to shove their lightsabers.'

Juno looked at him in surprise.

'I spent most of my life taking orders, my decision to be with you was and is one of the few I've ever made. I want to try being with you.'

'And if Kota disapproves?'

'I'll remind him which of us is the more powerful.'

They stood there silently, enjoying each other's company until a question that had been nagging at Juno had to be voiced,

'What about the _Shadow_?'

'Kota wants to use it for a group of commandos, which i guess includes me. He also wants to upgrade it with better shielding, more room for troops and so on... Will you being joining?'

'Galen, all I ever wanted as a child were two things, my father's approval and to be the captain of my own large ship. And with the Rebellion I have that chance.'

'Well if that's what you want, then ask for it. After everything you've done I'm sure they would give one to you.'

'Are you sure, we won't be able to see each other often.'

'I still want to try. Do you?'

Juno considered it, this could cause their relationship, as new as it was, to break apart but they lost nothing by trying.

'O.k. Let's try.'

She reached out and lifted his hand out of the hover chair and held it as they stared over the landscape of Kashyyyk. Tomorrow they had to face the entire Empire, but tonight they had each other.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

One month after the Formation of the Alliance: Alderaan

'Are you sure you want to go through with this boy?' General Kota asked with concern.

After Galen had been released, or liberated as he called it, from the hoverchair and pronounced fully healed, he and his new master had spent the next month alternating their time between recruiting members for an elite commando force that had been dubbed, "Kota's Commandoes", by the ever swelling ranks of the Alliance, the other task that he had been undertaking was his Jedi training.

This was the most problematic task for the young man. No matter how hard he tried, he was having trouble mastering the basic teaching. As a Sith apprentice he was taught all of the lightsaber skills he could possibly need, General Kota had stated that he was one of the best duellists that he had ever seen, especially given his young age. He had been taught how to tap into and manipulate the Force both inside himself and in his environment. The problem was the fact that the Jedi way emphasised appropriate force. Galen was trained to attack his enemies indiscriminately, using the same amount of force against stormtroopers and Shadow Guards.

On top of that Kota had forbidden him from using his Force Lightning. The power had been one of his most versatile and useful, Kota had even impressed with his Lightning Shield ability, a technique that had apparently never been seen before . Still, he was forbidden from using it or the dark side at all. It was a difficult that had brought both master and apprentice no end of headaches, the situation wasn't helped by Galen's choice to recreate his lightsaber, he was going to create the crystal for the weapon by using a mineral compression furnace, allowing for the creation of synthetic crystals; commonly a Sith tradition.

So he found himself standing on an observation deck of an Alliance ship disguised as a trading ship. Its current position gave a spectacular view of Alderaan. All of which was lost on Galen as he stared down his new master.

'Yes I'm sure, I need to do this. Creating the crystal using a mineral compression furnace will make it a reflection of me. I need to prove to myself that I am no longer Vader's slave. I need to do this master.'

Kota was silent for several minutes, his sightless eyes seeming to bore into Galen's, searching his feelings and intentions. Galen ruthlessly clamped down on his urge to squirm, something that was second nature so that he barely registered the sensation.

'Alright,' Kota agreed with a nod, 'There's a furnace you can use in the Ylesian base. We need to start training sessions with the unit now that we actually _have_ a squad and I need to secure the uniforms for the Rebellion, they have decided to use the same ones as my militia.'

Galen was faced by flashbacks of his battle with Kota's militia, the carnage he had inflicted back then. These memories were now tinged with guilt.

'Thank you master, it will take three days to create the crystal.'

'Take a week,' A wry smile graced the blind man's lips, 'Captain Eclipse is undergoing her officer training there. I'm sure you two will find ways to pass the time.'

Galen shifted uncomfortably at that comment. It was one of the only ways that anyone could get a reaction out of him, and the blind general took far too much pleasure in it. It just had to be a breach of the Jedi Code.

'Yes, It will be nice to see her again,' Galen's response was controlled, he didn't want to show weakness, 'And PROXY, I haven't seen either of them in three weeks.'

Kota was happy to see his padawan's spirit pick up. He had sensed the guilt within him and he hoped that he would be able to forgive himself; guilt made the person experiencing it susceptible to the dark side.

'Well, I need to go collect the _Rogue Shadow_ from Spira anyway.'

'I don't see why you had to use a mechanic from that pleasure planet, are you sure it will make my ship more suited for combat?'

'Don't question me boy. I've been fighting longer than you've been alive, I've used this mechanic before. He does good work and is easily persuaded to keep his mouth shut, something that is very useful in our line of work.' Kota chided his pupil with an annoyed scowl on his face,

'Now go, I could use the break from you, my annoying apprentice.'

Galen nodded. He then turned and made his way towards the hanger bay, he could get a shuttle from there and use it to travel to the base on Ylesia. It would be easy to reach the small base due to Ylesia's position as the top trading planet in that sector.

(\|/)

Two days later: Ylesia

The base was indeed small, it was a place for the fledgling Alliance Intelligence network to stop and listen to all the chatter from the various traders that passed through. The main purpose of it was to listen for any word from around the galaxy of other rebel groups that the Alliance would then arm.

It had actually been Galen's suggestion to arm the rebel groups to divide the Empire's forces, doubtlessly it would cause several groups to be completely destroyed but the surviving groups would be competent enough to bring into the Alliance. It had been an uphill struggle getting that approved. But still it made sense, no need to risk there being a loss of life because they recruited the wrong rebels.

Still it was nice to be able to see Juno again.

In fact he felt her now familiar presence moving towards him now, he could just about make out her foot steps and the clanking ones of PROXY.

'Galen!' came the enthusiastic cry.

The mentioned man let a rare smile reach his lips. _'Except they're not so rare anymore'_.

'Juno.'

'I heard you were coming, tired of the General's company already?'

'Yes, but unfortunately I'm stuck with him.'

Juno blinked and opened her mouth to reply but PROXY beat her to it.

'Was that a joke master? You seem to be in usually good spirits.' The holo-droid said.

'Just happy to be here. Now I need to get to work.' Galen said with obvious reluctance.

'Don't tell me this was a business visit?' Tinges sadness and hurt were plain to hear in her voice.

'Only until I create the crystal for my lightsaber, it will only take three days. We'll have two full days to ourselves. I promise.' Galen reassured quickly.

'Well then I'll leave you to it, the sooner you get your lightsaber finished the better, and I have some tactics to learn, Iblis is a slave driver.' With that Juno turned and made her way along the corridor.

'Good luck Juno.'

'You too Galen.'

PROXY paused before following Juno, 'Master, the mineral furnace is at the end of the corridor, on the right.'

'Thanks PROXY, you better go after Juno.'

'Of course master.'

As the droid turned to follow Juno, Galen called out after it, 'PROXY!'

The droid paused and turned back towards his master, 'Master?'

The droid wasn't prepared for the sight his optical sensors transmitted. His master looked... sheepish?

Galen paused for a second to order the words in his mind before he voiced them, 'PROXY, look after Juno. She'll need the help, the way the galaxy is right now.'

Galen got the feeling that if his droid had had the ability to, he would have been smiling.

'Of course master. Since I am no longer able to recall my Primary Programming, I must now follow my Secondary Programming is to ensure that you operate at peak capacity and Captain Eclipse is integral to that end.'

Galen blinked. He hadn't heard of PROXY's secondary programming before, he had always been preoccupied by the droids primary programming. Trying to kill him. Vader had set it as a test, if he survived each assault he would be stronger and would prove that he was able to strike down a friendly if need be. If he died then Vader had been wasting his time and he would then gone to search for a new apprentice. He squashed a swirl of disgust as he remembered the reason he had fought so hard. He had wanted his 'Father's' approval and pride. He had repressed his real father, Kento, and had turned to the only available figure. A cybernetic Sith. The disgust at himself and his actions returned and he crushed it as ruthlessly as before.

He realised that PROXY was eyeing him oddly, he had spent so long thinking that PROXY was preparing to ask him when he responded, 'Thank you PROXY.'

The droid paused and moved his head in a way that Galen had long ago learned to interpret as pride or joy, 'Good luck master,' the droid ended their conversation and hurried along the corridor after Juno.

Galen shook his head slightly at his droids antics and allowed himself to marvel at the diversity of life in the universe. Then he marshalled his thoughts and made his way to the room with the mineral compression furnace.

(\|/)

Galen stared at the object in front of him, he was surprised at what the furnace actually looked like. it was surprisingly small, a cube with dimensions of only about one and a half meters. it had a small readout to show the progress of the crystal and current settings, below that a small slot for the crystal to come out, a set of dials to change the settings, a green button labelled 'start' and a red button labelled 'stop'.

He sat down in front of the furnace and took up a position for meditation, his legs crossed, his hands resting on his knees and his head held steady. Having already set the furnace, Galen used the Force to lift the pouch of lightsaber components and set them out evenly. He paused for a moment before he activated the furnace.

As the furnace rumbled to life Galen stretched out with the Force and felt the minerals that would become his lightsaber crystal. He felt its shape, structure and properties. Galen allowed himself to slip into a trace, allowing the Force to guide the change he would make to the crystal.

After Galen had become accustomed to the noise of the furnace he felt the trance deepen. Master Kota had warned him of what to expect, the lightsaber was a symbol of a Jedi's connection to the Force and as such when constructing the lightsaber it wasn't uncommon for the Jedi to be confronted by a personal trial as they entered the trance. It could be a vision of an unwanted future, a call of temptation from the dark side or it could be a trial from the subconscious, it varied from person to person.

With all this knowledge and a hint of fear and hesitation Galen surrendered himself to whatever the Force dictated that he face .

(\|/)

Galen opened his eyes to find himself floating in a hazy landscape, he looked around to see if it was somewhere familiar. He recognised some landmarks, it was just that they were from many different planets that he had visited. The spires of Coruscant, the jungles of Felucia and the junk piles of Raxis Prime all fought for a place in this odd, cluttered landscape. When he had noticed that he was floating, he failed to notice just how high he was, nearly two hundred feet into the air. He was just... sitting there.

_'Just my luck,_ 'Galen thought dryly, _'Some Jedi fight complex inner demons, face their worst fears for the future or a million other possible trials, and I get a test of patience. Perfect'_.

It was then that Galen noticed that he was surrounded by what appeared to be... bubbles. He was surrounded by multicoloured bubbles of various shapes and sizes.

_'If this is my mind,'_ The young Jedi thought glumly, _'Then Vader did more damage than I thought'_.

Galen looked over his left shoulder just as a green and brown bubble struck him and his mind was abruptly pulled across time and space.

(\|/)

_The young boy cried out in joy as he climbed the gigantic branch, intent on reaching the brightly coloured insect that perched on the tip. The three year old giggled and pulled himself along the branch as fast as his chubby little arms could do so._

_As the boy neared the insect it took notice of its would be hunter. Rainbow wings glittered in the afternoon sunlight as they fluttered in agitation. The boy gasped at the sight, the light combined with the wings made the most amazing sight his young mind had ever see. Unfortunately the supplier of the spectacle saw the sudden sound as a threat and reacted as such._

_The young child's shout was heard by most of the nearby forest. Acting on reflex, the boy clutched his bitten hand, this meant that he lost his grip and plummeted down to the forest floor. The boy cried out again as he hit the floor, he then curled himself up into a ball cried._

_How long he stayed there the boy wasn't sure, however there was one person that would make all of the pain go away._

'Mommy.'

_The word is uttered quietly and with a tone of choked emotion only a child is capable of. The boy stands and guided by his nascent Force sense makes hi way toward the warmth and happiness inside his hut._

'Mommy!'

_The word is heard this time. Mommy appears out of the hut and rushes towards the boy. Immediately the boy found that the pain had lessened and he stopped crying and then Mommy spoke with a voice full of compasiion,_

'Galen where are you hurt? Let me see.'

_Galen nodded and held up his hand, on the back was a raised welt with a single puncture mark. Mommy studied it intensely and then looked Galen in the eyes,_

'Galen, was it a big bug that stung you, with big rainbow wings?'

_The boy nodded slowly and swayed slightly. What astonished Mallie, that was Mommy's name, was that her three and a half year old was walking around so soon after taking a dose of venom that could knock a full grown Wookie out cold for a solid week._

'Galen, can you tell me what happened?'

_The boy immediately began to tell his tale, _'I wuz playin' an' I saw a big pwetty bug an I waned to pway so I wen up a twe an' it bit me an' it made an' owie an' I wan'ed de owie to go away an' it did.'

_At the end of the rambled story Galen rocked and Mallie gripped him. He was carried over to the balcony and set in his mother's lap. She sung to him about the Wookies, how strong and brave they were. Galen slipped into blessed sleep to the sound of his mother singing to him and stroking his head._

(\|/)

Galen blinked back in the hazy landscape. The bubble had vanished and he now realised that the bubbles were in fact memories. The one that he had just relived had been of his mother, he recalled his father talking to him as he recovered from the venom.

_'Never forget Galen, we fall down so we can learn to pick ourselves up again. We experience pain so that we don't want to experience it again or inflict it on others. That allows us to be kinder than before, if we rise above pain, hate and fear we can do great things. Remember this Galen.'_

Now that he thought about it, it had been one of the few wise things that his father had ever said. When around his mother his father had acted immature and when she died he withdrew into himself and had only begun to open up again when he had been killed.

Galen realised with a jolt that he _recalled_ these events, he didn't relive them like the other memory. Somehow reliving that event had woken his other scattered memories. Did that mean that all of these bubbles were repressed memories?

At least that would be more productive than a test of patience.

He noticed an emerald green bubble float past him, he stretched out a hand and touched it. Abruptly he relived his duel with Master Kota and then their subsequent meetings.

Galen blinked as the recollections passed, it seemed that only repressed memories needed him to relive them completely. He closed his eyes and allowed the memories to come. He lost track of time as he shifted from memory to memory. When he exited a vivid recollection of his last birthday with his mother he realised that all of the bubbles had disappeared. Before he could work out why the bubbles vanished, he realised that he was falling. Fast.

Now Galen realised just how high up he was and as a scream was torn from his lips he felt rather than saw the approaching ground. He steeled himself. This was going to hurt. A Lot.

He hit the ground with a sickening crunch. Unsurprisingly it hurt. A lot. However what did surprise the young Jedi was the fact that he was still alive but probably suffering from every impact related injury that had ever been recorded.

As he peeled himself off of the ground as his injuries began to heal. Of course they did, he was within his own mind, he doubted that he could die in a subconscious test created in his own mind. That would basically be suicide.

Galen became aware that he wasn't alone. The haze began to lift and he saw his worst nightmare. Every being that he had ever killed or destroyed was assembled around him. Senators, soldiers, bounty hunters, droids and Jedi. They surrounded him and at forefront of the horde was something he had never wanted to see again. Himself.

The image before him was of a possibility, one far closer to reality that he wanted to contemplate. A cyborg merged with Sith alchemy, it looked at him from behind the intimidating almost Mandalorian helmet. With no visible signal the horde advanced.

Galen prepared to defend himself, but he had no weapon and as hard as he tried he was unable to touch the Force. He felt fear grip him but he grabbed it and pushed it deep inside himself, where he buried all of his angry impulses to be dealt with later. As he did so the army swelled is size, each member of it reaching twice the height that they had in life and the Sith grew to three times his size.

The fear returned and as it did the enemies shrank, he pushed it down and they grew. In a flash of inspiration Galen knew that if he acknowledged his fear then the enemies would vanish. Well when he said 'knew' it was more along the lines of 'hoped'.

As he had hoped the horde vanished and all that was left was his Sith self. And in its hand was a red lightsaber. The Sith charged at him and as it did so he felt the fear rise but Galen let it wash over him he stared it down and as he did the Sith faltered and fell.

'What are you?' Galen asked tentatively.

The Sith responded in an identical voice, 'You. I am you. I am your passion, your hatred, you fear and I love you. When you need help and power, you will turn to me and I will help you because I love you because you are me and I am you.'

'Love is of the light side, not the dark!' Galen responded angrily.

The Sith smirked before he faded away, 'Are you sure?'

Galen shook himself, what did that mean? He now wasn't sure what to do, what to believe.

No. That wasn't true, he knew what to. He would go forward, he would embrace the light and keep a careful eye on the dark.

A loud beep cut its way into is trance from the waking world. The crystal was complete and Galen allowed himself to return to consciousness.

(\|/)

Galen opened his eyes and noticed the small tray that had extended from the slot on the furnace. A blue crystal sat on it, it was a bright blue-white colour and it had a one and a half centimetre cubic section in the centre with two pyramid shaped ends the same height as the cube. He summoned the components with the Force and the made them orbit around him as he lifted the crystal with his hands. It was heavier than it looked. He pulled the components into an exploded arrangement, showing the general position of all the components. Galen gripped the crystal and threw it into the arrangement, as it passed through space it was going to occupy he caught it with the Force and caused the components co collapse around it. He summoned his new lightsaber to his hand. He stared at it for a long moment before he raised the emitter to just below his chin.

'My name is Galen Marek and I am a Jedi like my father before me.'

As he said this he activated the lightsaber and a brilliant blue blade sprang to life. As the glow illuminated his face Galen smiled. He was one step closer to being a true Jedi.


End file.
